Firstly, before proceeding, I must apologise for the pink colour of the pictures, no amount of Photoshop will remove it and I must attribute it to the colour balance of the new camera I am using!

NSR have been around for a little while now and although I don’t actually own one, I have driven several and to say I was impressed would be a fair comment. The Mosler If I remember was the first model to be released, and at a time when most dedicated racers already had Moslers, but still they sold! Another surprise in the early days was the Clio, I’m not sure many saw that one coming, but NSR have settled into making a whole range of models which have all been done to death, and then charge a tidy penny more for them.

My heart goes out to those thousands who think they are buying a race winner, which they are.......but possibly not in their hands!! NSR promises the racer the earth but they can’t give the racer talent, and to illustrate the shear embarrassment they can generate I have actually beaten NSR’s with SCX cars! Blueprinted a bit, but still 100% SCX.

So where is this going? The first myth I want to dispel is that by buying one of these models you will not automatically be first home, even though the model itself is very capable; so after reading this review think hard about the racing you do and consider all aspects of your race craft.

As mentioned elsewhere a long time ago, NSR don’t profess to make a detailed scale model, their focus is performance, but the model is attractive too. It is basic in finish with a lot of thick clear lacquer and it shines like the real thing. Interior is also minimalistic and a bit reminiscent of the Pro Slot models of the late nineties, where the drivers legs just hang over the edge of a spartan drivers tray. Be assured that the tyre dust generated by fair wear and tear will soon be sticking to the inside of the clear window parts. Body wise, NSR have decided to make this model a little shorter and marginally wider than the SCX and Scalextric models.

Where some makers would have gone for photo etched grilles and the like, NSR are quite content with picking out that type of detail in black plastic, The same goes for the rear wing and the somewhat vulnerable door mirrors. Other parts at risk on this lightweight body are the lights and the little black splitter wings on the front valance. The clear parts are not the greatest, and there is a noticeable gap along the top and down the sides of the front screen. One novel feature though is the moulding and tampo’ing of the wiper blade as part of the front screen! Mmmmmm!

Lastly on the body front, it is quite thin and carries its own use by date if you are going to race this in anger. I have seen more than one patched and repaired NSR model and you must be ready to accept it may not look box standard for long. On removing the body it is apparent that it does not appear to positively ‘locate’ on the chassis, but rather floats on it; care is needed here to prevent cross threading the screws when screwing it back together. If you force a cross thread, you will split the post.

A look underneath reveals more NSR features. Some good ideas and some not so good! The drop out guide arm is a bit flimsy, and as it is not sprung or weighted it must have some difficulty effectively tracking the conductor rails, especially on commercial plastic tracks. As part of the arm there appears to be a facility for some sort of adjustment, but there are no screws or adjusters present on this model.

The chassis pod has a triangular shape and is fixed at each corner with a regular body screw which screws into plastic ‘nuts’ at each corner of the pod. There is a typical round magnet which can be put in one of three positions and there is plenty of downforce as the chassis is nearly touching the track anyway.

Rear axle and drive gears are a bit novel in that NSR have gone for a 31/13 final drive ratio (2.385:1) and with a 21,400 rpm motor producing 350 gm/cm torque, the model can make short work of some of the longer straights it is likely to encounter. NSR have also opted for their own arrangement for the rear axle bearings, making a set up which has minimal contact to rotating parts. The bushes have very narrow bearing surfaces and the axle has a pair of fine brass tube spacers which determine the track at the rear.

The chassis proper is quite flexible and the front axle is reminiscent of the seventies and eighties Scaley axles that slopped up and down, allowing them to negotiate the precarious banked corners without throwing the model out of the slot. Again it looks like there might have been an opportunity to have adjusters on the front axle, but this model does not have any.

The lead wires are loose in the model and on this one they are tucked under the front axle. There are some lugs on the top surface of the chassis which look like they should be holding the lead wires, but they don’t grip very well and I’m sure it wouldn’t take many laps before they were detached once again. The guide is a reasonably healthy 6.0 m.m. deep and shouldn’t present too many problems and the motor is fairly secure, leaving little to be done for non magnet racing.

As mentioned before, the model clears the track by a minimal amount and once on the track is very quiet in operation. The gearing makes sure the acceleration isn’t too sharp and uncontrollable and unless you have main straights of four metres or more you may well not be able to enjoy the models top speed. On our local magnabraid track there was enough downforce to allow the model to corner with surefootedness and not so much that the magnet causes the chassis to drag along the track.

On Carrera track the down force isn’t too dramatic either and the model will circulate quite pleasingly, and now and then there will be the sound of the chassis scraping on the uneven joints, and on the odd occasion the back will step out, warning you that you are on the limit. On Scaley sport track (and presumably SCX too) the model is pretty much stuck down by the circular 8x5 magnet and racing becomes unadventurous.

But going back to partial magnet is where the most fun is to be had. The model sparks up with the sensitivity pot turned up on the controller until the slowest corner is almost impossible to negotiate. Whisperingly quiet and totally responsive, the model has the makings of an enduro model. something that will circulate lap after lap with endless ease.

But alas it would have no role in my race box. My local race groups race set motor classes and we don’t race anything this quick, simply because they frighten people away; and I would rather have twelve or fourteen racers at a meeting racing Scaleys, Flys and Nincos than four or five NSR owners. Another downer is the price; at Au$106.00 + freight it is a case of justifying the expense for a model which may not get that much use.

But I digress. This is a fabulous slotcar experience and one that all racers should try once in their life, you would not be disappointed and it might spur you on to get your Scaleys and Flys running properly, but unless you have a huge track in the attic you will have to get club racing before its full potential can be realised.

In line with the NSR tradition there has been a lot of ‘crossover’ ideas gone in (or left out) of this model. It is minimalist in the least, much as the Pro Slots were in the nineties; and it drives superbly on the right surfaces, again much like Pro Slot did and it can be guaranteed to be a new slotracing experience if you haven’t already had it!! But to get the most from it you will need to factor in one other detail, the governing factor will be the size of the circuit. It is my view that this is not a home racing model.

Many thanks to local racer and all round good egg 'Moby' for the opportunity to review this model